Tell me about it sometime
by UK-824
Summary: "I still can't believe that you knew my dad, I'd love it if you could tell me about it sometime" this is that sometime. Soma and the gang have returned from their recon and he and Erina have a little chat about family, cooking, and the past. Now a series of one shots about Erina's new life a the Polar Star dorm.
1. Chapter 1

Soma and his group had just come back from recon on Central's survivors hunt. Locking up his bike, Soma, Takumi, and Megumi all head into the dorm.

"Man, that was brutal…" Soma muttered.

"Tell me about it, Momo is a monster despite her size, and she's just the fourth seat. Imagine having to face the higher ups. The elite 10 are nothing to scoff at." Takumi said.

"It won't be easy." Megumi said, making Soma grin.

"Yeah, but that's what makes it fun."

"Soma-kun! This is serious! The elite 10 are a lot stronger than we thought." Megumi worried. Soma put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Then we just need to get stronger too. Shouldn't be a problem, we've all gotten a bit better since the Stagiaire period, and we have Isshiki-senpai. Plus, now we have another elite 10 member in our corner."

"Nakiri-san?" Megumi asked. Soma nodded.

"Yup, 'God's tongue' is on our side, sorta. We all keep challenging each other with our cooking and we'll take on Central no problem."

"Well said, Yukihira! In fact, why don't we have a challenge right now?" Takumi suggested, fire in his eyes.

"Nah, I'm beat. Been a long day, you know?" Soma said, making Takumi fall over.

"Hahahahah, nii-chan, you're so cool." A voice said behind them. The three turned to see Isami, Yuki laughing at Takumi while Fumio just chuckled.

"Oh, hey, you guys are back. How'd it go?" Soma asked. The three quickly became somber.

"Not good. The elite 10 demolished the competition. The only good news was that some of the reserve members lost. But the 10… Yukihira, it's a miracle you managed to beat one, even if he wasn't at his best."

"What did you expect, the 10 are the strongest students in Tootsuki, that much is certain. Defeating Central won't be easy." Fumio reminded.

"Yeah, we talked about that, but Yukihira made some good points on how to win."

"Oh, really?"

"Mhm, Soma-kun reminded us that we got better during the stagiaire period and now we have two elite 10 members on our side."

"Two?"

"You mean Erina-cchi?" Yuki asked.

"I get it, her "God's tongue" ability. You think you can use that to better yourselves." Fumio said.

"Yeah, even without that, she's a really good chef. She's the only first year in the elite 10 and she cleaned up during the festival."

"Do you think she'll be up for it though? With everything happening with her father, she doesn't seem to be in the best shape." Takumi interjected. Soma thought about that.

"You got a point… I'll check up on her, least until Hisako gets back." Soma said, going up to the room Erina was staying at for the time being and knocking on the door.

"Nakiri? You awake in there?"

"Yukihira-kun?"

"Yup, can I come in?"

"Just a second… ok, you can come in now." Soma did and closed the door behind him. Erina was sitting in the bed, brushing her hair.

"You just take a nap or something?" Erina nodded.

"Yes, just tidying myself up a bit."

"You look fine to me." Soma commented, making Erina blush a bit.

"Wh-what?"

"You look like you always do, even without the uniform, you still look all proper and whatnot."

"Oh, that's what you meant." Erina whispered.

"Hm? You say something?" Soma asked.

"No, nothing at all!" Erina quickly defended.

"Ok then…"

"How did your reconnaissance go?" Erina asked, filling the silence.

"Not that great, turns out the rest of the elite 10 are monsters. Only ones who lost were some of the new Central recruits." Soma said.

"Aren't you worried?"

"A little I guess, but I'm more excited."

"Why would you be excited?"  
"Because now I can go up against all these strong chefs! Something like that doesn't come around too often." Soma said, grinning. Once again, Erina could see the shadow of the man she admired in Soma.

"Yukihira-kun, did you need something from me?" Erina asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Just checking up on you. You seemed pretty out of it from when Nakamura-senpai came."

"Yes, my father is a… difficult subject, but I was more surprised about yours."

"My dad?" Erina nodded.

"I never knew that Saiba-sama had a son, and to think you would be him."

"Man, it's so weird to hear people call him 'Saiba'. He's been Jouichirou Yukihira all my life, though I guess I didn't know too much about his past. Didn't even know he went here till a few months back, let alone him being second seat as well. Old man's got some explaining to do."

"Was Yukihira your mother's name?" Erina asked, making Soma tensed a bit.

"Yeah… guess so. Pops must've taken it when they got married."

"I didn't even know he got married."

"I guess there's a lot we don't know about him. Maybe could you tell me what you know?" Soma asked.

"Huh?"

"I know I asked for you to tell me sometime, but my curiosity's at an all time high. Do you mind?" Soma asked.

"I suppose not. Saiba, er, Jouichirou-sama came to cook for my family some years ago. After my… father was banished, he came and cooked the most delicious food I've ever tasted. It helped drown out what my father did. He set my 'God's tongue' into a blaze. His food took me to places I didn't know food could reach. Your father is one of the chefs I admire most in the world, so much so that I asked for a picture with him-" Erina couldn't stop herself from admitting the last part. She couldn't stop talking about her idol once she started.

"Hahah! You got a picture with my old man?" Soma laughed.

"Sh-shut up! Erase that from your mind, forget I said anything!" Erina replied.

"Can I see it?"

"Absolutely not!" Erina stonewalled.

"Oh, c'mon, please? It's just a picture of my own dad, I promise I won't laugh." Soma said.

"How can I believe you?"

"I swear on Yukihira's I won't laugh."

"What's that?"

"The dinner me and my dad run back home." Soma answered. Erina thought about it and marveled at herself for even entertaining the idea. Then again, it was his father.

"You promise?"

"I promise." Erina thought about it a bit longer before deciding.

"Very well." She got up and opened a bag she brought with her. She took out a small case and pulled out a picture from it and gave it to Soma, who grinned.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!"

"I'm not, just grinning. I didn't think you would be so young in the picture. What are you, 10 in this?"

"No, eight actually. That's when he came." Erina cleared up. This made Soma somber up to her surprise.

"Eight? So this was taken eight years ago?" he asked.

"Seeing as how I'm sixteen, yes it was."

"Sometime in May? Between the 7th and 18th." Erina assumed he meant to ask that as a question, but it was a statement of anything. She nodded, slowly.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"So that's where he went…" Soma said to himself. Erina wasn't used to seeing the redheaded boy like this, he was usually doing everything he could to get on her nerves or cooking, but now he was quiet.

"Yukihira-kun? Are you alright?" Erina asked, brining him out of his stupor.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, just… something makes a lot more sense now." Soma said, giving her back the picture.

"What would that be?"

"Wouldn't want to bore you." Soma said, some of the playfulness back in his voice, albeit somewhat forced.

"Now, now Yukihira-kun. I shared something with you, now it's your turn to share." Erina teased. Soma relented.

"Alright, fair's fair. Let me just sit down." Soma slid down the wall he was leaning on to sit on the floor, his legs huddled against him.

"My mother's name was Mai Yukihira…" Soma started. Erina took note of the past tense.

"Was?"

"Yeah… she passed away eight years ago." Soma said.

"Oh my… Yukihira-kun, I didn't mean to…" Erina started but Soma stopped her.

"I know, just… I haven't really talked about this in a while, this could be good for me." Soma said, hugging his knees closer to him. Erina nodded and waited for him to continue.

"We were driving home from the grocery and another car crashed into us. I was in the passenger seat so I didn't really get hurt, just got nicked by a piece of glass." Soma said, pointing his thumb to the scar on his brow.

"But my mom… she was driving… got the worst of it. The ambulance took us to the hospital and my dad was there right away. They patched me up quick, but mom… they couldn't help her. She held on for a few days, and we got our goodbye's in. She died on May 2nd."

"Yukihira-kun…" Erina whispered, but Soma was to engrossed in his story.

"Pops fell into a funk after that, we both did. But it was bad for him. He still got up every day, cooked and cleaned the diner, but it was like… like he was just going through the motions. A few days later he got a call and told me he was going away for a while for work, left me with this kind old lady I'd visit every now and then. He left on the 7th of May." Soma said.

Erina was mortified. Here she was, just talking about how fantastic it was having Soma's father cook for her when he and his son had just lost the most important woman in both of their lives. Looking back on it, Erina never really asked about Jouichirou's personal life.

"Soma… I'm-"

"Let me finish, Nakiri." Soma interrupted. Erina waited for the blame, for the anger she thought was coming for taking a father from his son when he needed him.

"My dad came back on the 19th, and the first thing he did when he got back, was tell me a joke."

"Huh?"

"He told me a joke about how the chicken crossed the road because no one cooked it."

"That's…"

"Really bad, I know. One of the worst jokes he's ever told me. But I laughed anyway, not because it was funny, but because it came from my dad. When he left, he was this almost broken man but when he came back? Man, Nakiri, when he came back, he was cracking jokes and smiling again, putting his heart into the food again. He was still sad, yeah, we both were… we both kinda still are. But my dad was back." Soma said, eyes shining, a warm grin making its way to his face.

Erina was expecting him to be furious at her, blaming her, calling her selfish or anything. She wasn't ready for this.

"I always knew something happened to him on that trip. Didn't know what it was 'til now, didn't really care because whatever it was, it made my dad smile again, made him happy. Now I know that was you, Erina. You made my dad smile again." Soma told her. The way he was looking at her, with such sincere gratitude, made Erina blush slightly. This was something new for her.

''Thank you, Erina. I mean it, thank you for helping my dad. I owe you."

"Y-you're welcome. And you don't owe me, you're trying to defeat my father so-"

"Yeah, but I was gonna do that anyway. And besides, I'm doing that because I can't stand what he's doing, doesn't sit right with me. You helping my dad, that's between us. If you need me for anything, you just give me a call and I'll be there." Soma promised, once again bringing a blush to Erina's face.

 _"This man is bad for my heart!"_ she thought.

"Well, if you'd really like to repay me… maybe you could tell me more about him?" Erina tentatively asked, making Soma grin. Soma spent some time telling Erina stories about him and his father, some she couldn't believe like their ongoing war for their 'best worst dish'. Others she had no problem believing, like Soma's 490th consecutive loss against his father.

"Wow, 500 straight losses."

"Only 490!" Soma hotly defended, making Erina giggle.

"Hey, that's something new." Soma commented.

"What is?"

"You're laughing, I think it's the first time I've seen you do that."

"Well, I suppose I just enjoy hearing about your failures, Yukihira-kun." Erina teased.

"Man, you're brutal, Nakiri." Soma laughed, bringing his hands up behind his head, causing the headband tied around his wrist to flop onto his face.

"Yukihira-kun, I have to ask, why do you carry that headband with you?"

"Hm? This thing? It's kind of a lame story. Whenever my dad cooks, he'd tie his hair into a ponytail, his way of getting serious. I thought it was cool so I wanted something like that too. Tried doing the ponytail thing but my hair wasn't long enough, though I did grow it out a little so maybe now…" Soma mumbled, getting distracted by his hair. Erina grunted and brought him back.

"Er, right. Anyway, since I couldn't do the ponytail thing, my mom gave me this to wear when I'd cook serious. She told me it was a magic headband but I knew it wasn't. Still, I finally had my own thing and I was super excited about it. Been using it ever since."

"Your mother sounds like she was a very kind woman."

"Yeah… she was." Soma said wistfully. The two fell into another silence, both of them unsure how to continue until there was a knock at the door.

"Erina-sama?" Hisako's voice rang through the door.

"Come in."

"Erina-sama, I'm back from- Yukihira? What are you doing here?" Hisako asked, surprised that the redheaded chef was in Erina's room.

"Just keeping Nakiri company 'til everyone got back. How'd it go?" Soma asked, getting up off the floor.

"Not good, I'm afraid. Central is stronger than we thought." Hisako informed.

"Yeah, we all kinda figured that out too. Just means we're all gonna have to get stronger, right, Nakiri?" Soma asked.

"We?"

"Yeah, you and Hisako are practically members of the dorm now that you've seen Isshiki-senpai's naked apron routine. Means we all gotta help each other get better. Now that we got you two in our corner, Central better watch out."

"I don't know if two people could make that much of a difference…" Erina mumbled.

"You kidding? Hisako here made it to the top 8 in the elections, and I'm telling you, Nakiri, you should've seen her in the Stagiaire. And then we got you, 'God's tongue' herself, 10th seat in the elite 10. You got out 400 servings in the training camp, plus you and Hisako did great in the festival. The way this dorm works is we clash against each other with our dishes, building on each other's ideas. With you two here, our cooking's sure to evolve." Soma assured. The two girls were touched by the praise.

"Soma… tha-" sadly, Hisako was cut off by Soma slamming his fist into his palm.

"Man, all this talk about our cooking growing is getting me fired up! I'm gonna go find Takumi and take him up on his offer to have a match. See you two later." Soma announced, going off to find the Italian chef, leaving the girls by themselves.

"Well, I should've seen that coming." Hisako sighed. "I'm sorry about him, Erina-sama. He can be quite… fickle, but he means well. I hope he didn't trouble you while I was away."

"No, it was fine, Hisako. We just… talked, mainly about his father."

"I'm still shocked he has such a father, who would have thought?" Hisako asked. Erina nodded but stayed quiet.

"Is something wrong, Erina-sama?"

"No, it's just… everything that's happened, my father coming back, meeting the people at this dorm, Yukihira-kun's father, it's all so much but… but for some reason, I'm anxious."

"Anxious?" Hisako asked, Erina nodded.

"Yes, but I think it's a good anxious. All my life, everything has been planned out, everyone is who I thought they would be, but now? Now everything is changing and despite it all, despite all the struggle I know is coming, I think I'm… excited. Excited for the challenge." Erina explained. Hisako was taken back, Erina was usually so calm and composed, always sure of herself, confident in her ability and status. Now, things were more bleak for her than they'd ever been and she had a spark in her eye that Hisako had only seen in a certain redheaded chef before.

 _"Could this be the spark of Erina-sama's fighting spirit?"_ Hisako thought to herself. The pinkette smiled and knelt to Erina's eye level.

"Then it's like Yukihira said, with us at this dorm, Central better watch out." Hisako said. At these words, Hisako swore she could see that spark in Erina grow just a bit more. Erina smiled, the first true smile Hisako had seen in some time.

"Well then Hisako, let's get started."

 **(A/N. Well, what did you all think? This is my first shokugeki story so go easy. If you liked it or have any constructive criticism, key word being "constructive", please leave a review.)**


	2. Fruits of our Stagiaire

**Chapter 2, Fruits of our Stagiaire**

"You had a shokugeki with one of Central's members?!" Hisako shrieked.

"No, me an' Takumi were gonna have one with him, but Kurokiba beat us to it. Hand me the butter?" Soma asked. Hisako sighed and gave him the butter on the counter. The two were in the Polar Star kitchen and Soma was working on a new dish and Hisako was keeping him company.

"You I could expect, but I thought Takumi-san would be more level headed." Soma shrugged.

"Heh, you don't really know him then. Guy tries to play it cool but he's the most hot headed hot head there is. And besides, it was the Central guys fault anyway, he insulted all the seminars and R.S' that worked so hard to stay alive. We weren't gonna let that slide." Soma said, adding more ingredients to the dish. Hisako could smell the aroma's coming off of the stove, inhaling deeply to take in the smell of sautéed onions, roasted tomatoes, and a medley of other vegetables mixing together with tenderly cooked meat.

"Mmmm, something smells good! Yukihira, what are you cooking?" Yuki asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Something from the Stagiaire, give me three minutes and you can have some yourself."

"You have enough for a few more?" a new voice asked. The three turned to see Shun and Ryoko come into the kitchen.

"Yup, you guys wanna get out plates?" Soma suggested, adding a final touch to the dish and putting the lid on it. A few minutes later, the table was set with everyone sitting down and Soma brought the pot out. The four at the table watched as Soma finally unveiled his dish. Thick noodles mixed with vegetables and meat came steaming out of the pot onto plates, piling them on like a dome of pasta. Soma then added a white sauce on top on them that dribbled down to each crevice of the pasta, turning the dome into an igloo of cuisine.

"Metimura's napolitan revamped, Yukihira-style!" Soma announced, presenting the plates to the four at the table.

"Metimura?" Yuki asked.

"The restaurant we worked at during our Stagiaire. You remade it?" Hisako clarified. Soma nodded.

"Yup, after catching up with Takumi, I wanted to try something Italian themed, Metimura's was the best thing I could come up with. A napolitan usually has tomato sauce, button mushrooms, and green peppers, but I used a white sauce instead, along with red peppers and pieces of roasted tomatoes. Dig in!"

"Thank you for the food!" the four said in unison and took a bite of Soma's dish. Immediately, they were transported to a water park full of pasta slides and alfredo sauce for water. They twisted and turned rushing down the slides on their inner tubes of vegetables. Yuki was going down the infinite pasta slurp ride, going up and down and all around. Shun was riding a wave of sauce on his red pepper boogie board, carving on the wave and going through the tubes. Hisako and Ryoko were relaxing on the lazy alfredo river, Hisako on her tube of onion while Ryoko was being embraced by her tomato tube. All four of them were enjoying their course until they hit a new ride, they got to the meat of the park.

"Chicken?!" Ryoko asked aloud.

"Yup! I pan fried chicken with the onions and peppers and added butter to mix the sweetness of the peppers and the onions together with the chicken and used the juices they produced to baste the chicken. Then I put some of the left over juice they made into the alfredo sauce to give it a new tangy flavour and give it a more creamy consistency. I also mixed some of the juice the chicken made into the noodles, so you get that flavour in all the parts of the dish." Soma explained.

"Wait, didn't Eizan do something like that in your shokugeki?" Yuki asked, making Soma grin.

"Yukihira, don't tell me you stole a technique from an elite 10 member?" Hisako asked.

"I wouldn't say 'stole', more like I… ok, fine, yeah, I stole it. It was a good idea. I just learned from his failure." Soma cheekily said. The four of them kept consuming the dish with a vigor, devouring it like it was their last meal. The pasta and the sauces completely enveloping them in their embrace until there was none left to consume.

"What? No, I want more!" Yuki complained.

"That was amazing, Yukihira." Ryoko praised, Shun nodded in agreement. Hisako just stared at her empty plate.

 _'Yukihira Soma… he took the basic idea from Metimura's and added his own creativity and combined all that with a technique that he learned from an elite 10 member after seeing it just once! He truly is a frightening chef…"_ Hisako thought.

"It wasn't much!" Soma announced, taking off his headband and wrapping it back on his wrist.

"And you learned that in your Stagiaire?" Yuki asked.

"Yup, me and Hisako here made me all the time."

"Hisako? You two worked together?"

"Yup! That reminds me, Yuki is the one I got the manga's from so they go to her when Nakiri's done with 'em." Soma explained.

"Erina-cchi is the one you needed them for? She has good taste." Yuki said.

"I'll make sure they're returned to you." Hisako said, Yuki waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, she can borrow them for as long as she needs."

"You're very kind." Hisako smiled.

"D'awww, you're making me blush, Hisako-cchi." Yuki said with her trademark smile.

"So, what did you guys learn during the Stagiaire?" Soma asked. Yuki smirked while Ryoko put a finger to her lips. "Spoilers."

"Just because you showed us what you learned, doesn't mean we have to spill our secrets." Shun added.

"You mean this? Hah, I just came up with this an hour ago. What I really learned was something way cooler." Soma teased.

"What? What is it? Tell us!" Yuki asked. Soma just grinned and copied Ryoko.

"Spoilers."

"Hey, no fair using my thing against me!" Ryoko complained.

"In my defense, I am pretty good at doing that."

"If you mean annoying people to no end, I'll have to agree with you, Yukihira-kun." A new voice said. The group turned to see Erina walk into the kitchen wearing her typical school uniform.

"Erina-sama, have you returned from class?" Hisako asked Erina nodded.

"Man, Nakiri, still so harsh." Soma laughed.

"I prefer the term, critiquing. What's going on here?"

"Yukihira was showing us some of what he learned in the Stagiaire, but he's not telling us the best parts!" Yuki complained.

"Best parts? And what would that be?" Erina asked. Soma smirked.

"Well, if you really wanna know, I studied under Shinomiya-shisho for part of it at his new restaurant." Soma bragged. The room fell silent for a moment before people erupted with questions.

"You interned for Kojirou Shinomiya and survived?" Yuki asked.

"What did you learn there?" Ryoko wondered.

"He actually let you assist on his opening week?" Shun questioned. Questions were thrown left and right until one got everyone's attention.

"What visible result did you leave?" Erina asked.

"What do you mean, Erina-cchi?"

"We had two requirements to our Stagiaire. One was to learn or steal something from the chefs we interned under. Training under a former 1st seat would no doubt bring countless learning opportunities, especially one as accomplished as Shinomiya-senpai. But our second requirement was to leave a visible result as well, something that would benefit the restaurant because of us. What I want to know, is what visible result did you leave on a restaurant owned and run by Kojirou Shinomiya?" Erina asked. If at all possible, Soma's grin became even wider. Erina could swear that the word 'pride' was written on his face.

"If you want to know, check the menu if you ever go there." Soma said. The weight of his words slowly sank into those who heard them.

"Yukihira…"

"You don't mean…

"You actually…"

"Soma Yukihira, do you mean to tell us that you managed to put a dish on to his menu?" Erina finished the groups thought. If the word 'pride' was on his face before, it practically beamed out of him this time.

"I don't believe it." Hisako said.

"You gotta be joking, Yukihira."

"Prove it. What's the name of the dish? We can look it up on his website to see if it's actually there." Yuki said, taking out her phone.

"I can't say it in French but it's 'Quail Stuffed with Risotto and Eggs ~Brazen Youngster Style~' or something like that. "

"Well, is it on there, Yoshino-san?" Hisako asked. They all waited for confirmation but Erina just stared at Soma.

"It is… the dish is on there… Soma got one of his dishes on to a former 1st seats menu!" Yuki said in excitement. The group, minus Erina and Soma began celebrating, congratulating Soma for such an accomplishment. Yuki rushed off to tell the rest of the dorm while Ryoko and Shun went to gather food for the party they were going to throw, leaving Soma, Hisako, and Erina in the room.

"So is this it then, Yukihira-kun? Your answer to what you were lacking in the election finals? Is this your specialty?" Erina asked, eying Soma inquisitively. Soma sighed.

"Well, I dunno. It was my original dish but Shinomiya-shisho helped refine it so he'd put it on his menu. I don't think I can really call it my specialty but it's a step in the right direction. I'm proud of the dish, it's definitely the best French dish I can make, at least for now." Soma said.

"Not a specialty and it's on the menu of a former 1st seat's restaurant. And somehow I get the feeling you're not completely satisfied." Hisako said.

"How could you tell?" Soma asked, raising a scared brow.

"Erina-sama is like that sometimes. She'll make a remarkable dish but won't be happy with it for some reason."

"Well, I guess we're more alike than I thought, eh Nakiri?" Soma grinned.

"Sh-shut up! We have nothing in common, no-nothing!" Erina stammered. ' _Hisako! Why did you have to say that?!'_ she thought to herself.

"Hahahah! It's always fun to see you riled up, Nakiri." Soma laughed. Hisako let herself grin a bit while Erina fumed. Erina was going to respond but Megumi rushed in.

"Soma-kun! Yuki told everyone that you got a dish onto Shinomiya-senpai's menu, is that true?" the blue haired girl asked.

"Yup, we're throwing a party to celebrate." Soma said. Megumi's face broke out into a wide smile as she rushed the red headed chef into a hug.

"Congratulations, Soma-kun!" Megumi muffled into Soma's chest. Erina stared at the scene, wide eyed and slightly red faced. ' _So shameless!'_ she thought.

Megumi let go of Soma, slightly blushing at her forwardness.

"S-sorry, Soma-kun, I just got excited." Megumi fidgeted. Soma laughed and ruffled her hair.

"It's alright, Tadokoro. I'm excited too." Soma grinned.

"C'mon, everyone's waiting for you, Soma-kun." Megumi said. "You two as well, you're part of the dorm now." She added to Erina and Hisako.

"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to intrude or anyt-"

"Yes, we're sure. We'll say it as many times as we need to. Both of you passed Fumio-san's test with flying colours and you've celebrated with us already. The both of you are Polar Star dorm residents now." Megumi reminded them. She then grabbed both their hands and led them to Marui's room. "Now come on, it's time to celebrate." The entire dorm was gathered in Marui's room and he didn't even complain this time.

"Ok, shut up brats!" Fumio shouted over the ruckus. "Now, here at the Polar Star dorm, we party for practically any reason. But we celebrate for each other's successes. When Isshiki joined the Elite 10, for example, when Tadokoro and Yukihira made it to the semi's in the elections. These were all school accomplishments but today we celebrate one for outside the school. Our very own Soma Yukihira has begun to make his mark on the culinary world. During his Stagiaire, he interned under Kojirou Shinomiya, a former 1st seat of this very school. Soma here managed to get one of his own dishes onto Shinomiya's menu, paving the way for the rest of his culinary future. To Soma Yukihira! Keep making the Polar Star look good!"

"To Soma!" the rest of the dorm followed Fumio's example and cheered.

"Ahahahah, thanks everyone, I really mean it. But guys, I have one question… where's the food?" Soma asked. Fumio grinned.

"That's where you come in. We find out you make a dish like this and you don't prepare it for us? That's just like your father. What better time to make it than during the party to celebrate it. We got all the ingredients down in the kitchen so hurry up, boy!" Fumio said. The rest of the dorm cheered in agreement.

"Alright, alright. Give me a few minutes and I'll have enough for everyone." Soma relented, putting on his headband while going to the kitchen.

"Aw man, I can't wait for this." Yuki said.

"Me too. It's clear that Soma-kun's cooking has taken a new leap, but for it to actually make it into the real world is amazing."

"To be fair, he did say that Shinomiya-senpai helped him refine it, but still it's impressive." Shun added. Soon the whole room started to discuss Soma's growing skill. Hisako was content to listen to the discussion but found that Erina was staring off into space.

"Is everything ok, Erina-sama?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, everything is fine, Hisako. It's just…"

"It's getting harder to deny his cooking?" Hisako added. Erina turned away slightly, pink dusting her cheek.

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to, Erina-sama." Hisako offered. Erina smiled.

"Have I ever mentioned how wonderful you are?"

"Every now and then."

"Remind me to say it more often." Hisako smiled.

"I will. But what about your… problem? Will you still say it's not good?"

Erina knew there was no blame in her voice but the question still stood. What would her pride allow her to do when she tried his dish? She muddled with this decision until her nose caught a peculiar smell.

"He's using risotto?" Erina mused aloud.

"I smell cabbage."

"That quail smells fantastic."

"Let's go and see."

The members of the dorm all went to the kitchen to see Soma take out a rather large quail from the oven.

"Yukihira, that smells amazing!" Yuki said but Soma didn't respond.

"Yukihira?" Shun asked.

"Soma-kun?" Megumi tried getting his attention but to no avail.

"He's in his own world right now." Fumio said.

"Huh?"

"The boy is engrossed in his food, focusing on his cooking to such a degree that nothing else registers. He's probably aware that we're here, but for now, all his attention is on his food. Chef's tend to do that in their work."

"That's so unlike him, he's usually all over the place."

"Not in the training camp." Erina said.

"What do you mean, Erina-cchi?"

"Yukihira-kun made a grave mistake during the 200 portions test and I may have…"

"Erina-sama, did you mock him about it?" Hisako asked knowingly. Erina blushed slightly.

"J-just a little bit."

"Meh, Yukihira probably deserved it." Fumio said, motioning for Erina to continue.

"Well, he didn't really acknowledge my… 'critiques', he was focused on how to make up his deficit. He went to serve over 150 portions in the last half hour of the test."

"And done!" Soma's voice rang out.

"About time! Hurry up and serve it!" Soma grinned and began plating his dish. Soon the table was set.

"Presenting, Stuffed with Risotto and Eggs ~Brazen Youngster Style~! Enjoy!" Soma announced.

"Thank you for the food!" everyone said and took their first bite. Only one word could describe what they were feeling.

Explosion.

An explosion of flavour, of juice, of meat, of creamy eggs, of crunchy cabbage, of pure deliciousness all happening within their mouths. Each and every one of them could taste the harmonious blending of all the little parts that made up the dish. The quail was so tender, so juicy, that their jaws would keep chewing, trying to wring out more and more flavour with each bite. The creamy eggs and risotto would blend marvelously in their mouths, swirling like a torrent of flavour that threatened to overcome them. The cabbage would hold them together though, acting as a life boat in which to hold themselves. But even that could not prevent them from crashing into the quail like a ship crashing against an iceberg. The dish ripped through them, tearing away parts of them piece by piece until it reached their core and filled them with pure, culinary bliss.

"Yukihira-" Yuki sputtered out between bites. "This- so- don't-" she tried to talk but didn't want to risk on missing out on any of the dish. The others were just as engrossed, taking in every bit of flavour they could. Not even God's Tongue was impervious.

Erina tried to find a flaw with the dish, anything that would allow her to tell him that it was no good to Soma. She found nothing. Her tongue wouldn't find a flaw in the tenderness of the meat, the creamy consistency of the eggs, the sweetness of the cabbage or anything like that. The dish satisfied the demands of her palate. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't too big a deal, after all, the rest of the dorm's food were made in ways she'd never experienced before, gave her flavors she'd never tasted before. But it still irked her.

Throughout all of dishes that she's tasted, whether through tasting appointments or meals she'd eat in day to day life, she'd had the pleasure to taste spectacular dishes. Some she would undoubtedly find one or two small faults in, but not large enough to ruin the dish. But sometimes she would be lucky enough to find a rare dish that would satisfy her palate, that would meet all the requirements on her checklist. Usually a chef who would be able to do that would come far and few with the hundreds of the appointments she'd be required to attend. Those chefs would go on to be wildly successful. Other times, it would be her grandfather who would make those dishes for her. Erina could recount to times when she was younger and would finish playing and her grandfather would make her simple dishes. They were so full of warmth and flavour that she couldn't help but consider them perfect.

The last time she had food like that when it wasn't made by her grandfather was, ironically, made by this man's very father. Jouichirou Saiba, as she knew of him then, would make food that she couldn't even describe in a way that wasn't full with praise. And now, some eight years later, she was tasting food from his son, food that she couldn't deny satisfied her palate.

"So, how is it?" Soma asked, bringing them all out of their fervor. Looking at him, they Erina could tell he wasn't really asking their opinion. The giant grin on his face gave away the fact he knew how it was.

What really got to her were his eyes. Golden orbs that shone with mischievous glee. But behind them was a burning passion that she'd seen many times before. But this time was different, for now it was aimed at her. The dish he made wasn't for help in a shokugeki, not to improve himself, but to show her the results of his training, to prove that he had surpassed himself, and make her say it was "Delicious!"

Erina tensed, wondering if it she really had said that out loud. She allowed herself to relax when she realized it was Megumi who spoke.

"Soma-kun that was delicious!" Megumi continued.

"I knew we had some quality game out there but man, Yukihira, I didn't know they could taste that good!" Yuki exclaimed. The others nodded enthusiastically, showing their agreement.

"Well done, Soma. Your dish was splendid." Fumio said, pride evident in her tone. Soma grinned at all the support.

"It wasn't much!" Soma said, taking off his headband and relaxing a bit. "But seriously, I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Well, almost all of you. What about you Nakiri? What did you think?" Soma asked. All eyes turned to her but she could only focus on the red headed chef asking the question.

Those same burning, golden orbs she'd seen on his father were now staring at her once again and she wondered how she couldn't piece together their relation before.

' _These Yukihira's will be the death of me!'_

She realized that everyone was looking at her in anticipation. She struggled with her answer before coming up with answer she thought would work.

"It was… passable." She answered.

"Just passable?" Soma asked, scarred brow raised.

"Indeed."

"C'mon, Erina-cchi, that was amazing!" Yuki said, getting nods of agreement around the table.

"What you all must understand is that Erina-sama is tasked to sample dishes from esteemed chef's from around the world, so her standards are quite high. If she deems a dish passable, that means it could easily be served in a five star restaurant." Hisako explained.

 _'Hisako, you're amazing!_ ' Erina thought, once again thankful for her aide.

"Oh yeah, sometimes I forget what a big shot Erina is." Ryoko mused.

"Well, it's a step up from what you said last time. I keep this up, I'll get you to say my food's delicious in no time." Soma said.

"Humph, you're more than welcome to try, Yukihira-kun." Erina taunted, giving her signature hair flip.

"Alright, brats, enough grandstanding, time to clean the table." Fumio said. As they cleaned up, Hisako shot Soma a thumbs up when Erina was out of the room. Soma grinned and knew that he was closer to his goal.

 _'One step closer. One day soon, I_ _ **will**_ _make you say my food is delicious, Erina Nakiri!'_

 **(A/N. So I know I said this story would be a one shot, but I came up with this idea and soon enough, story ideas just kept coming. So now this will be a series of one shots, some connected to the others. I'll work in some plot from the manga every now and then as well. Please leave a review if you liked the chapter, or if you have some helpful critiques.)**


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